


Always

by jen0s_cats



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Aged Up NCT Dream, Alternate Universe - College/University, Best Friends, ChenJi, Cherish it, College, Cute little dates, Donghyuck smokes weed, Drug Use, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Falling In Love, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Light Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, Mild Language, My love for college Au's is FUELING this, Nct dream ensemble - Freeform, PLOTPLOTPLOTPLOT, Park Jisung & Lee Donghyuck Are Best Friends, Parties, Roommates, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Strangers to Lovers, Underage Drinking, Underage Substance Use, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, Weed, dont worry :), i love them, i still dont know how to tag help, i will tag as i go, love it, markhyuck, my soft little collage babies, nomin, noremin, very light, yes plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:42:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27197993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jen0s_cats/pseuds/jen0s_cats
Summary: Love isn't always easy, especially when you are in your second year of collage and barely even know what love is. Everyone was just living their lives, weather it was happy, exciting or even just routine. Jisung was just another car on the highway with a life no more exciting than anyone elses. He blurred into the seemingly never ending traffic, waiting for a sign, a light to guide him out. Jisung was just lonely, that's what it was. A loneliness that consumed him.orCollage is hard. And Jisung just broke some random kids phone, just peachy.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno, Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Na Jaemin/Park Jisung, Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le
Comments: 7
Kudos: 46





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my second ever work AHHHH ! My love for Nct is A LOT so yknow I just had to write this. College AU's have always been a favorite of mine to read for no particular reason hehe, so I HAD to give it a shot for myself. 
> 
> Anyways, please enjoy!

Jisung fiddled with the small necklace that was dangling around his neck as the teacher loudly lectured in the background. Jisung's laptop was open, but there wasn't any note taking being done on it, he didn't even have an internet browser open and was practically falling asleep. He was completely out of it today and had to opt for his frames this morning as his annoying phone alarm gave him a rude awakening. He only had time to throw on the black zip up NERDY brand jacket with the white stripes down the sleeves that he wore far to often, and a pair of simple, slightly distressed jeans. Did Jisung have anything under the zip up, no, he did not, but there was no time for that this morning when math class was starting in five minutes and Jisung was still laying in bed.

But at least he made it on time, he was a mess that's for sure, but he did make it on time. Missing from his class again and they would just kick him out of it, placing him back down in the same basic math that everyone else was in. And Jisung had already payed for this advanced math book and it wasn't like he could get a two hundred dollar refund from a book he already scribbled around in. 

Class dragged on for a long time. It was just Jisung tapping his foot against the laminate floors of the lecture hall for two hours while his professor went on and on about equations and how math helped solve the current international issues. Jisung tried to sit in the front but that was no use because he had arrived quite late than everybody else, so all he could do was a fix of squinting and bringing his glasses farther away from his face to see if the board could be magnified. But after about ten minutes of doing that Jisung fully gave up on the idea of taking notes for the day, trying to remember at least a few of the things the professor said.

Finally the professor gave her usual, "that's all for today, enjoy the rest of your day." spiel and the mass of students began filing out of the classroom, flooding the building's halls. Jisung sighed softly as he pushed his frames farther up his nose, apparently he needed to go to the eye doctor as the board was definitely starting to get blurry again. He pulled out his phone to text his roommate to finally alert him that he actually made it to class on time and there was no need to worry about a ride back home. And then not even seconds later Jisung was practically flying forward into another set of lockers a couple feet away. 

"Shit!" Jisung heard a voice higher than his own as he blinked rapidly to try and stop the room from spinning. Jisung had just barely missed hitting his head on the lockers when he jot his arms out in front of him to brace for impact, but now he was sure he looked like a fool standing there in front of the old metal rectangles.

"Sorry I-" Was all he could offer as he retracted his arms to look at the damage the metal boxes did to his hands. Students didn't even use these lockers, they were not allowed to first of all, and he was sure no professors used them anyways. Then a boy, presumably the one Jisung had just rammed into, appeared next to him, picking up something that was right next to Jisung on the floor. It was a phone, his phone? And that thing looked fucked up.

"You broke my fucking phone!" The boy practically wined, earning Jisung's full attention as he turned around and stood up straight to face the boy for the first time. He was short, well, considering Jisung himself was pretty tall was the boy really even that tiny, probably not. His hair was blonde, strawberry blonde, he had a smaller build. Not to mention he looked fucking rich, he was only supporting a turtleneck, a blue jean jacket and a pair of those expensive name brand, black jeans, but he still looked way to put together for a first period class. Jisung must have been looking for a bit to long because the male in front of him was standing there giving Jisung a mean glare back with his destroyed phone in hand. 

"I'm…incredibly sorry." Jisung confessed again, smoothing down his dark brown hair from the mess it had gotten itself into. He puffed his cheeks out subconsciously as he looked around the hall for someone who could possibly be of any sort of help. He zipped up his jacket, finally noticing that the zipper had failed to keep itself up over Jisung's pale chest, trying to distract himself from the boy still standing in front of him.

"That's all you are going to say." He snapped back, cocking his head to the side, slightly rolling his eyes at the shallow apology. Jisung wondered how much a silly phone costs nowadays as he reached for his own that was still tucked away in his linty hoodie pocket. 

"I can maybe, pay for it? Take my phone!" Jisung sighed right after he said those few words, scratching the back of his neck softly knowing he would regret saying anything. 

"Its an iPhone 11 man. I'll be alright for now." He said, Jisung's eyes going wide as soon as the shorter said those words, now really regretting his offer to pay or offer up anything.

【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】

"That was when I offered to pay for his phone like the dumbass I am." Jisung wined as he relayed the whole incident to Donghyuck, scrunching his nose again in habit. Donghyuck, his best friend and his only friend here at the school as of right now. The two had been friends since high school and developed quite the bond over the many years. From dragging the younger to parties or making him stay up late, the two did a lot together during this first semester. 

"How much is a phone now." Donghyuck pondered, fiddling with the straps of his backpack as the two continued down the hall towards the direction of their last classes for the day. 

"Like a thousand dollars, plus tax. Shit." Jisung dragged out, raking his long fingers through his hair again as he zipped his jacket all the way up to his chin in an attempt to shield himself from the strong wind blowing through the university courtyard. Jisung still wasn't wearing any sort of garment under it so he fiddled with the zipper that actually had a small ring attached to it, pulling it up and down as he continued walking the narrow cobblestone path.

The boy decided he was nice and didn’t want to take Jisung’s own phone out of his hands, so that was nice of him. But he still had the burden of thinking about it the rest of the day, and how was he going to pay for something like that when something like a textbook was out of his price range.

Jisung's head was still slightly spinning just thinking about it, at least his hands were all patched up. His business management teacher told him to go to the nurses office to have his small wounds fixed up and cleaned. It was nice of her, but her class was one of the only ones Jisung actually liked, so he kind of burdened missing the first half of the class. His hands were still slightly stinging from the strong rubbing alcohol, but the cute strawberry and orange Band-Aids kind of lifted up his stressed mood, making everything a little bit brighter.

"Mark is offering dinner tonight, if you wanna come over." Donghyuck broke the silence that the two had been walking in for a few minutes now as he looked up from the bright home screen to glance at Jisung. Mark, Mark Lee was Hyuck's boyfriend to put it in simple words. They were not ‘dating’, but Jisung was one hundred percent sure he had a crush on the older boy. That they had crushes on each other. They had a few classes together and Mark was the classic collage boyfriend practically everyone wanted. He was smart, brought you coffee if you had early morning classes, and he also had one of those leather book bags that you quickly sling over your shoulder instead of a backpack. Basically he was kind of the perfect collage boyfriend who was obsessed with watermelon for some weird reason. 

"Sure. Thanks for offering." He felt better about the day now, slightly, even though dinner would most likely be Jisung third wheeling. 

It was still windy and very gloomy, like how it had been all week, and Jisung could possibly be paying a boy he didn't know over one thousand dollars because he bumped into him and shattered his phone. But other than that, he was getting dinner and getting to hang out with Donghyuck who was usually way to high to function almost half of the week. He would probably get high after dinner as well, Mark picked up Donghyuck's bad habits after hanging out with the boy so often, but at least that boy claimed he did it for health reasons. 

Donghyuck claimed to have a wax pen and smoke weed for anxiety purposes. Jisung believed him one hundred percent, his hands always shook back in the first years of high school and his anxiety kept awake into late hours of the night. But it was getting better now, maybe because he was not sober but at least he could concentrate on school, when he wanted to do work, and actually get things done. But was that the weed doing that? Or was it the fact that Donghyuck finally found someone to love him and care for him all hours of the day.

The two walked for a little while before having to go their separate ways, giving each other the old, "see you after class" and waving before heading opposite ways to go to their last classes of the day. Finally, Jisung was almost done with the school day, but it was the middle of the week and he still had a few more days of school to go before the weekend begun. But today wasn't exactly the best of the days. Jisung still had a strangers broken phone to think about, and how in hell he would come up with some type of pay.


	2. Chapter Two

Jisung couldn't hear much, except for the loud music blasting into his eardrums from his headphones, his little case decorated with small stickers still resting right on top of his phone that was next to the open computer. He was three pages deep into his dance theory paper and was beginning to struggle, but the music blocking out any sort of sound coming from his surroundings helped him focus a little bit better. Jisung flinched at the figure of his roommate Jeno who was finally coming back to his seat from his small adventure of looking around the library for a book to help him with his history assignments. 

"Sorry Jisung. Didn't know you were that into it." Jeno chuckled softly, placing a hand on Jisung's shoulder before continuing to read through the pages of his big ass text book. Jisung barely heard the words Jeno said, but nodded in suit when his lips finished moving. He took his focus away from the boy sitting next to him and pursed his lips together as he tried to calm himself down again, angling his laptop slightly away from his roommate so that he couldn't start reading his essay. 

Jisung's head was still slightly throbbing as he continued to type this paper, trying to focus on the cool toned electric screen in front of him. The dinner at Mark's house last night was the source of his headache that had continued coming in waves all throughout the day. He had only taken a couple hits on the lowest setting after their dinner but that still seemed to somewhat fuck with Jisung's head in the exact same way it was messing with him again at this hour. Jeno was kind enough to buy him a small pack of Advil before he had to wake up for classes this morning so that he could take something to try and soothe the pain, to at least get him through the day. 

Tilting down his computer screen slightly Jisung was met with Donghyuck who was still sitting right across from him, dead asleep on his textbook. He had been silent for almost the entire two hours they had been sitting there so something had to be up, guess that was it. Donghyuck had either knocked out from the stressful classes today or it was the fact that he stayed at Mark's place last night and got little to know sleep, doing who knows what with the other boy. Probably the second option. Nonetheless Donghyuck was sleeping like a log, his slightly curly, dirty blonde hair was poking out from underneath his hood as he buried his head into his arms. It was the classic, sleeping at your desk position and you could just barely see half of his face peeking out from behind his left arm. At least Donghyuck looked content, while the other two had been slaving away to try and complete their work for the night.

_Click. Click._

Jisung turned his attention to where he thought the sound was coming from. Turns out it was just Jeno, who was practically shoving his phone in Donghyuck's face to take an 'amazing' photo of him dead asleep on the library desk. Almost bursting out laughing himself Jisung tilted the computer screen down even more, picking up his phone to take a few photos to keep in his own camera roll. They did not have good photos of each other, none at all. Most of them were of the other making some stupid ass face, tripping over something or falling asleep in the most random of places. Jeno had a lot of Jisung, the two were roommates after all and Jisung often fell asleep on the couch while clutching one of the many pillows they had on that thing.

"Assholes." Donghyuck noticed the clicks of the phone camera, yawning as he slowly lifted up his head, not daring to open his eyes and meet the bight lights on the library ceiling. He had a morning voice, the raspy one that made his normally high voice almost sound manly, almost. His hair was pressed down flat in the front from being held down against his arm for so long, giving it a weird almost bowl cut style instead of its usual curl. 

"We thought it was cute." Jeno gave him a toothy grin before snapping a few more pictures, trying to hold in his laughter as he tapped his bright orange led pencil against the wooden desk with his open hand. It was one of those obnoxiously bright, two tone, point nine led pencils that came in packs of literally twenty. While Jisung and Donghyuck had opted for a basic Muji pencil that came with its own led and eraser, simple, and would not be seen from the other side of the lecture hall.

"Ew." Donghyuck stretched his arms up, making the weirdest noise possible as he reached his arms far up into the air, his neck popping as he rolled it around. "What time is it?" 

"Almost midnight, I'm surprised that they're letting us stay in here this late." Jeno remarked, leaning back against his chair as he took an earbud out of his ear. The three boys were not the only ones still in the library, there were a few other solo students and one other group, but that was it in this massive building. The librarians were allowed to leave after five pm, and sometimes student helpers stayed up as late as they wanted to help students check out books late into the evening. But other than that it was open pretty late, the last professor to leave, which was usually around twelve thirty. Jisung had no idea why they stayed so late, what the hell could they be doing for so long and so late into the night. But, it was usually one of the fine or practical art instructors because they had things to choreograph, or paintings to finish, something of the sort.

"Lets call it a night yeah? I can take Hyuck home." Jisung was in no mood to drive, at all, but he offered up his position anyway. Otherwise it was a sleepy, possibly still high Donghyuck riding the train at almost one am, so there was really only one option. 

【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】

Jeno took Donghyuck home. After around five minutes of talking out who would be taking him home Jisung gave up, just wanting to get home at that point instead of bickering with Jeno for more than ten minutes. He was already tired and still had classes tomorrow, so it was best to get the most out of the few hours of sleep he could get now. So Jisung just drove himself home, parking his car that really needed washing in its usual spot. Jisung got his license at sixteen, and it came in handy now, he was happy he got it early, or just in time. In his second year of collage driving came in handy, he took Donghyuck home quite often and had picked a drunk Jeno up from a few parties on occasions, so it was a useful skill. But now he was home, and falling asleep cocooned in all of his blankets. 

Jisung had only been asleep for what felt like a few minutes before he had realized that Jeno had came home with his boyfriend tonight. Well not really boyfriend, they were only ‘seeing each other’ was the way Jeno put it. The two often bickered with each other but they were not ‘official’ or ‘exclusive’ as he had been told. But the noises he heard were telling him the opposite. The noises he heard from the other side of the thin wall were enough to wake him up, leading Jisung to only turn away from the wall and cover his ears with the other pillow that was laying on the other side of his bed. They really had to just, have sex in the middle of the night like no one was in the room right next to them trying to sleep. 

Jisung rolled back to the other side of his bed, reaching out for his charging phone to check the time and to connect his airpods in attempt to drown out the sound. It was only one am, Jisung had only been asleep for about an hour now and he was already being woken up again. Lovely.

All he did was groan out in anger, it was honestly in an attempt be loud enough so that the two in the other room could hear his non-verbal complaints. Jisung put his headphones in, clicking on the first playlist he saw, blasting that shit on almost full volume as he turned in his bed, drowning out the sound. Thank god for the airpod pros, at least the small headphone had the power to drown out the sound of his roommate and ‘boyfriend’ having the loudest sex on the earth right next to his ear. Apparently they had gotten Jisung's groan of a message. Within about twenty minutes the two had finally stopped going at it, or at least they got quieter, quiet enough so that Jisung could now fall back asleep. His soft lo-fi music was still playing in his headphones, actually providing a nice vibe to this late night. 

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

It was quiet now, way to quiet. This was one of the few times that Jisung had actually been up during these mysterious hours of the night. Or was it hours of the morning? Nonetheless it felt peaceful, the night was cool and Jisung could see feint stars peek out from behind his curtains every so often. Jisung's window was wide open and the soft breeze wafted into his rom every so often, it was low key comforting. He liked his room at a colder temperature so that he could cuddle under his comforter the entire night without feeling uncomfortable.

But that feeling of comfort was just to much of a blessing wasn’t it. “Fuck.” Jisung cursed nonchalantly under his breath as he began to unwrap the cocoon of blankets he was in, all because of that stupid urge to soothe his dry throat with a glass of water. His feet padded against the laminate floors as he made his way into the kitchen to get the small glass he had been yearning for. The apartment was quiet for once, even the T.V that usually loudly played into the night, even though no one was watching it, was not on, and no loud commotion from the friends Jeno brought over sometimes. It was quiet. 

The tall boy made his way back to his room, quickly opening the door to minimize the loud squeak that came from its hinges that Jeno claimed he was going to fix weeks ago. Jisung took another swig of his water before setting it down on his bedside table and forgetting about it as he settled back down into the comfort of his own bed. Jisung ran his fingers through his hair slowly, his bangs immediately bouncing back to the front again, the brown pieces falling every so softly down to lightly touch his forehead and cover it once again. He sighed deeply, closing his eyes once more and let his body slowly drift back to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is kind of short as well, sorry :(. Don't worry the next chapters will get longer and longer, and i know that because it is halfway done already ;). 
> 
> Anyways, hope you enjoyed !! Remember to drink water and stay safee ~
> 
> Ft. My fancy star time skip divider things haha


	3. Chapter Three

The music stopped and Jisung placed his hands on his knees in an attempt to try and catch his breath for the next go around. He had done High For This, a dance routine he was submitting for a grade, about seven times tonight and still found a way to pick at himself for the way he danced. Jisung always noticed the little things and took all the time in the world to get things up to par, at least according to his standards of up to par. Thankfully Jisung was doing dance for his second year, so he knew the choreographer quite well, being a second year in the class dad it’s perks, and one of them was a key to the dance room. But it was open to anyone all day, for certain hours of course.

It was dim in the room, Jisung liked it that way, there was no way he would be dancing in full on light unless required by the choreographer. Something about the dim warm light felt better, it gave the room of mirrors a hip hop vibe, and Jisung couldn’t lie, he looked hot as fuck in the mirror with the lights dim. Jisung practically danced in the dark, only looking at his backlit silhouette until he flicked his head up, smirking at himself in the mirror before tapping back into the dance. His long legs and the way the light shone on his shirt make it almost transparent, showing only the dark shadow of the boys thin waist. It was hot, and Jisung knew it.

He often danced into the late hours of the night, working his little heart out until he had absolutely no stamina to continue on for the night. But the sport did help him de-stress, it took his mind off things like classes, school in general, and the overall stresses of being an adult. It was just him and the music blasting from the black speaker in front of the room, and that was all he really wanted at this moment.

Wiping his sweaty temples with the small cloth that Jisung usually brought with him, he walked over to the speaker again, playing the song from the beginning once more. Jisung let it play through while he messed with his hair and got in the starting position that he had actually came up with earlier that night. This song was super fun to dance to he couldn’t lie, this was the most fun he had all week, but Jisung was still brought down by that nit-picky dancer brain of his. He noticed everything, from the way his fingers floated around when he did certain moves, or sometimes when his head would be a count off, he noticed the little things.

There was his cue, the familiar feeling of excitement filling Jisung as the music ended, he put on a more serious face, it fit the mood that the song brought. Whoever sang this song was a goddess and her smooth voice fit so perfectly with the complexity and dexterity of Jisung’s dance moves. 

He began dancing right on cue, snapping is hand right into place while trying to be as clean as possible, being careful of his fingers. Even if this was currently a solo project Jisung still felt powerful, the way he snapped back to stare at the ceiling right on the lyrics, quickly jolting over to the next move with no issue at all, it was magical. And that electric feeling he got when he danced had yet to leave him.

Being cautious of his head movements and small finger flicks, Jisung continued to flow his way through the music. The music controls you, it allows you to move to its beats and rhythms, ones that you cannot change, ever. Jisung slid around across the floor, earning a loud squeak from his sneaker as he came to an abrupt stop, clicking back into position just as the music allowed him.

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

Another late night down, it was somewhere around one am but there was no school tomorrow, this Friday was truly just a blessing. Jisung had recorded himself doing the dance a few times before grabbing his phone from off the floor, beginning to gather his things and call it a night. He wiped the moisture off his forehead, along with the sweat that was beginning to pool down at the back of his neck before tucking it away into the mesh pocket of his backpack, remembering to wash it later.

After dancing for almost three hours now Jisung was finally done for the night, his stamina and the electric feeling he got when dancing were starting to slowly fade away. That special feeling Jisung had coursing through his body when dancing never really faded completely, it was still always there just coursing through his veins, even when he was doing small little moves as he walked down the hall. It felt amazing, and made his days somewhat happier, dancing in general made the male happier.

Jisung grabbed his hoodie and snack wrappers from the edge of the couch, that was backed up against the wall before turning off both speakers and heading for the door. He didn’t bother to mop the floors tonight, his shoes didn’t really track dirt in here as he only used that pair for dancing, and it wasn’t the same shoes he wore on a daily basis. Usually he would do it of course, but it didn’t even look super dirty, at all.

Turning off the studio lights, then locking the door, Jisung was welcomed by the dark hall of the arts building. They were some of the biggest collections of buildings on the campus and had the most students lingering around way after hours due to the mass amount of extracurriculars taking place in the building. A lot of them practiced here because they actually had work to get done, others either loitering around or using the studios to help improve a hobby or something.

It was raining outside now, hard. The sky was so dark, and the moon so thin that the water droplets falling from the sky couldn't even be seen from the buildings windows. The only light was coming from inside this very building that Jisung was standing in, a coupe other ones far off out of the way, and the small light posts that decorated the pathways of the courtyard. 

Jisung cursed under his breath before putting his hoodie over his still damp hair. He had no umbrella with him tonight and there was no way he wouldn't get soaking wet with his car parked all the way on the other side of the school yard. There was only two options. One, run the entire way back to his car, getting his entire body, and backpack completely soaked; or two, wait it out to see if this small storm lightened up.

It was option _two_.

Jisung tucked his hair back into his hood as he pulled it up, exposing his somewhat sweaty forehead to the elements as he made his way out the door. It was way colder out now than it was late into the night, there was no more sun to warm up the day, night time was left with the cold, dark moon and night sky. There it was, the petrichor, that oddly comforting smell that the Earth gave off as it was raining or after the fact. Jisung loved the strong smell it gave off, it was fresh and made him crave some soup, or a warm mug of hot chocolate. But all Jisung did was sit there under some kind of cover, the small pellets of water occasionally spitting on his hands as the remainder of the drops quench the scattered puddles decorating the asphalt. It was peaceful, and the small amount of students sitting near him and watching the rain fall made him feel just a bit less lonely.

"Looks like you need some saving." Jisung was startled by the sudden voice of a stranger, who turned out to be no stranger at all. He took his eyes off of the growing pool of water in the distance and turned to see the male. It was dark outside and Jisung could not see any specific facial features, but judging by the small figure and higher voice, it was the guy. That very same guy that Jisung ran into as he was nonchalantly walking down the hall trying to text his roommate, it was Chenle. Jisung had finally learned his name after seeing him a few times when between blocks, the two didn't exchange glances, or wave, nothing, but Donghyuck eventually caught on to who Jisung bumped into that day, naming him Zhong Chenle.

"Thank you Chenle, but shouldn't I be helping you?" Jisung stood up, grabbing his backpack from farther behind him and accompanying Chenle under the rather large umbrella. The two were under a small amount of cover but it wasn’t much to do anything unless you were further to the left. Plus the water droplets were getting more frequent and larger, falling faster and with more aggression. The dim moonlight was trying its best to illuminate whatever the artificial light did not cover, slightly shining its light over the entire courtyard as the two looked out at the rain. 

"My mother already replaced my phone, no need." Chenle glanced over to the taller before contently sighing, looking out into the yard just as Jisung was doing. "Now, what the hell are you waiting for." 

"The rain to let up. I don’t mind staying out here. Its peaceful." Jisung almost wanted to chuckle at the exchange the two boys were sharing. He had never acted in such a sophisticated manor in his life, of course Jisung was mature, but come on, everyone had their moments. 

"Right. Rain falls like it means to wash us away, like it means to keep hammering until we smudge like a Monet masterpiece. It sounds like the heavens are knocking on our door, roof and window panes." Jisung felt like he was reading a book, or talking to some sort of poet. The words that just came out of that mans mouth were almost heavenly. Chenle's voice was soft, and somewhat unsteady right now. Yet it was like a serene river, one that was rushing through a rainy countryside creating that nostalgic sound everyone grew to love the more they just sat and listened. 

"Y-yeah." Jisung was rendered speechless from the sudden outburst for quite some time, the subtle sound of the rain drops falling onto the concrete filling up the silence. "Sorry I broke your fucking phone. Lemme know if I can make it up to to somehow." Jisung had no idea how or what he was going to do in order to pay the boy back, but he was somewhat determined to help him in some sort of way. 

"It was just a phone Jisung. But if I think of something, I will let you know." Chenle properly looked over at the taller for the first time tonight, studying the boys face under the dim night sky. Jisung's small nose and the way he scrunched it up like a little rabbit every so often was simply adorable, his brown hair swept back into his hoodie, out of the way, making his eyes seem just that much brighter. Chenle even noticed his pink, heart shaped lips, and the small mole tucked away under them as the boy turned back in his direction. He was like a painting, a watercolor painting with the softest of details, yet the harshest of lines. One that took up an artists time, just to get every single little detail right, such as the mole under Jisung's bright pink lips, or the sparkle in his eyes every time he glanced back at the falling rain. Simply, beautiful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hii ~ hope you enjoy this chapter, don't worry they will get longer as i go hehe, oh and sorry this is a little short
> 
> as for the dance and song i mentioned, here is the link to a performance to the song that i was listening to while writing that section; https://youtu.be/IMIW2zKWqDY
> 
> anyways, hope you enjoy AHHH and just as an fyi Resonance pt. 2 comes out on Nov. 23 :)


	4. Chapter Four

It was later in the morning yet Jisung was still sitting in his bed, in pajamas, just waiting for the morning haze to finally clear up. It was a comfy day today, kind of overcast and hazy, it felt like a good morning to just stay in bed all damn day. Jisung just thought about random things while messing with his damp hair, which was still wet from his shower last night. He just laid in his bed under the warm comforter looking at the pale ceiling, listening to the rain was falling and its soft pitter patters on the roof of his apartment. But, he thought about it differently, Jisung looked at it in a different light. After his conversations with Chenle last night all Jisung could think about was the way the boy looked at things and how he described such simple ideas, it was almost magical in the way he spoke. Maybe it was just the fancy words that Jisung didn't know, but nonetheless it still made him think. 

Last night Chenle was kind enough to walk Jisung to his car after the rain had lightened up a little bit. It wasn't a very far walk and the two were comforted with the sound of raindrops and the large black umbrella shielding the two from the cold rain drops. It was a calm little stroll and the two exchanged thank you's and goodbyes before just going their separate ways. Yet Jisung still sat there wondering how Chenle got home in a timely manor, but he tried not to think about it to much, soon realizing that the boy had one of those fancy leather bags and designer clothes, so he was probably just fine.

Rolling his neck out until it stopped popping, Jisung grabbed his phone after sitting there in his bed for a few more minutes, just listening to the rain, trying to at least reply to any messages had gotten last night. There was only a few messages from Donghyuck saying “Jisung. Jisungie,” and so on for about ten messages, but that was it. He didn’t bother with replying so he just threw his phone back down next to him, rolling out of bed and wincing slight as his feet met with the cold wooden floors of the bedroom. It was very much a basic room that's for sure, Jisung had posters of some random bands he liked and photos of friends above his desk but that was about it. Jeno had bought him a small house plant, but the poor thing was dying in the corner because Jisung never remembered to water it. It’s green leaves were a brown shade now and the harsh winds coming from his window didn’t help the plant whatsoever. Other than the small trinkets on his desk and bedside table, the room was quite cool toned with its light blue curtains and cool white comforter that Jisung's mom so gracefully gifted him before moving. 

Apparently Renjun had stayed the night, again, or he was just here way to early in the morning. As Jisung opened his door, trying to run the tired out of his eyes, he’s was immediately greeted by none other than Huang Renjun just sitting on the living room couch like the lived there, which he practically did. Renjun was always over and no, Jisung didn't really mind, but the boys bright personality was a bit to much for the mornings sometimes. He was wearing fuzzy socks this morning. Jisung had to admit they were rather cute with the little heart patters embroidered within the fluffy material, probably a gift from Jeno, who also had a love for comfy socks and slippers. 

And still Jisung felt that all to familiar feeling in his heart again as he leaned against the door frame, the burning one that a most ached as if yearning for something to fix, to heal it. He felt tired, lost almost, like this melancholy feeling was staining his previously bright morning. He wasn’t jealous, no, not all all, he loved the relationship his roommate had and all the cute photos they took together, even if they were not ‘official.’ Jisung was just feeling, desolate, realizing that he was just another car on the highway, or a thread in a blanket that someone could end up plucking away one day and just forget about it as the thread floated away to who knows where. He had a life, not an interesting one or one that you could pride over, but at least there was one to live. He was just there living, existing and trying to at least make the best out of each day, the best he could. Jisung felt lonely. He felt lonely while the two boys now sitting together a couple feet in front of him were snuggling away, close together over a cup of who knows what as they watched the T.V.

Did they acknowledge the tall boy standing there in his thin door frame. No, they didn’t even notice Jisung standing there until he took but upon himself and plopped down on the Ikea chair next to the couch, beginning to fiddle with the hems of his loose shorts as he tried to focus on the T.V in front of them.

He earned a small “morning” from Renjun who noticed his pretense right away, he sounded almost way to cheerful for this gloomy, overcast morning. His pink hair was slowly fading away as the days went by, just two weeks ago it was a bright, almost hot pink. But now it was a more pastel salmon, still very contrasting to the mans dark eyebrows. The color suit him nonetheless, Jisung liked the more faded pink now that he saw it in person, it was better than the hot pink and it complimented the dark colors Renjun sometimes wore well.

"Do you wanna go out with Renjun and I today?" Jeno spoke up, taking a sip of his hot chocolate, looking at Jisung with those deep brown eyes of his. The television was still blaring in the background but none of them seemed to care anymore. Both boys on the couch were now looking at Jisung curled up in the corner of the chair, waiting for his answer as he glared back at them.

"What are you guys doing?" Jisung sighed and relaxed into the soft, white chair, allowing him self to close his eyes once again. Jisung wrapped himself in one of the many blankets they had in the living room, trying to mimic the warmth of his own room again, under the thick, plain comforter. 

"Shopping. Jun needs more sweatpants, per usual." Jisung fluttered his eyes open at the statement, glancing over to the couple sitting on the couch. 

"Date clothes!" Renjun giggled in response, huddling closer to his not boyfriend, pulling his legs into his chest as he adjusted the cute fuzzy socks. Jeno had socks now as well, they were not as cute as Renjun's but the little shark patches ironed on the side were a nice touch to the light blue socks. 

"You two go on dates an awful lot." He rolled his eyes. Jeno often left Jisung alone at the apartment to go with Renjun on their random date nights, sometimes Jeno came home drunk, other times there was just leftover food in the fridge the morning after, and last night they came home from bowling. Jisung only got that hint from the cheap ass pizza that was sitting in the fridge, it was bowling alley pizza, and maybe it was because Jeno straight up asked him to tag along. But Jisung decided on the strong hell know, bowling with those two would probably be one big gay nightmare. 

"So are you coming?" Jeno repeated his original question, flashing his dark brown orbs back at his roommate. 

"Sure I'll come."

【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】

"Now this~" Renjun giggled as he came out of the fitting room, in his new extravagant turtle neck and jacket, hitting a few poses as he strutted forward. The three had ended up at a Nordstrom because apparently Renjun had a card with points on it to put towards their purchase. It was a big store, it was a big mall, but practically everyone in the area shopped here so it was only right. Jisung never really bought much in real stores, he found the convenience of cheap online clothes just fine. Of course he went shopping from time to time, but most of his outfits were from online retail stores or gifts from family and such. Plus online shopping was nice, finding all different things for a cheaper price was part of the fun, so Jisung had a lot of different colored pants and random shirts in his closet. Today he was just in straight legged, light wash jeans, a black turtleneck and some vintage plaid jacket he had gotten last Christmas. 

"Now that." Jeno smirked as Renjun continued posing his way down his makeshift runway he walked down. Jisung just cringed behind the cardboard Starbucks cup, sipping away at his hot coffee as he watched them. They had arrived downtown about an hour ago and the couple had already went to multiple stores, including the small coffee break in the middle of shopping. Jeno had a car, a nice one, so it wasn’t a hassle to get wherever they wanted, aside from the weekend traffic they encountered. Jisung had a car sure, but it wasn’t as nice as Jeno’s or even relatively new, at all, but at least he had one in his possession.

Jisung was having fun, even if it was just basically the tall boy third wheeling the couple, it was still fun for him to be out of the house and with some friends. Plus Jeno had bought Jisung his Starbucks coffee and his scone, free food was always a virtue. But Jeno seemed happy and that was what really mattered, he was happier with the comfort of Renjun always by his side. Having someone to cuddle with on most nights, a partner to go out with, to have fun with, it was cute. But Jisung wished he had the same, someone to care for, someone to hold close, even if it was just for a little while.

”Jisung, what do you think.” Jeno asked as he picked up his cold brew up from the floor, too taking a sip of his drink. Jisung raised his eyebrows as he turned away from the rack of clothes, glancing back towards the two. While they were trying things on Jisung strolled around the little area they were in, and now Jeno had changed into something similar to his ‘boyfriend’, except he was in all black, per usual and the outfit was complete with a leather jacket that Jisung swore his roommate already had in his closet.

”You two definitely look like a couple.” He remarked, taking a few steps back to look at the two in a better light. They did look like a couple, the opposite color turtlenecks, their expensive looking jackets, they did look good and now they were all in turtlenecks of some sort. But Jisung did not have the chains or a watch around his wrist to complete the look they had. He was supporting a more vintage look with the clunky shoes and such, nonetheless he liked the outfit. 

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

Jisung regretted going out with them that night. He should have gone home when Jeno was offering but Jisung thought it would be fun to hang out with them. They went to a karaoke bar and Jisung had really only agreed to going with them because a boy named YangYang was also going, who apparently was the same age as them, still a couple years older than Jisung himself. But when did he hang around the people his age? YangYang was a small Chinese boy and he had so much attitude and power in the way he walked there was no way you would miss him. He had purple hair, it was a bright purple and it complemented is extravagant ass jacket that hung loosely around his shoulders. It had buttons and pins, it was also decorated in expensive looking broaches and embroidered with threads and such, it showed off his loud personality quite well. Yet he looked put together, and much older than the rest of the collage students in the room, but the boy was only twenty and still could be as immature as ever.

But Jisung still regretted it all, it was loud, way to loud and the alcohol stained breath of his friends was getting to his head. Jeno was drunk, so drunk. The dark haired boy had his hands all over Renjun, and even reached for Jisung on occasion when it was his turn to go up there and sing. The four quickly found out that none of them could actually sing well, except for Renjun. The rest of them had not so good singing voices while Renjun was over there singing like a god, at least Jisung knew he could rap. He took pride in the skill.

”One more round!” YangYang chucked under the dim light, holding the small glass of who knows what type of alcohol in his hand, swinging it around nonchalantly before shooting it down his throat. Jeno only clapped in response, giggling as he attempted to scoot himself out from behind the table only to be stopped by Jisung who was still sitting at the exit, tapping the side of his glass with the ring on his middle finger. His fake ID was still laying at the edge of the table, almost taunting him as it just laid there right next YangYang’s. Only the two were underage, but the older boy only had a couple months left before he turned the legal age, while Jisung still had a little bit longer to wait. He was still marveled over the fact that no one had caught it yet, but all props to Hyuck for making them look so real. They never failed him, but he rarely used it anyways so there weren't many chances for things to go wrong. 

”I agree!” Renjun stood up from the other end of the booth, using YangYang's shoulder as assistance while he downed the shot he had only received a few seconds ago. He carefully set the shot glass down and took the phone out of his back pocket before getting up and heading over to the mic, YangYang following in suit behind him. Jisung swirled the auburn liquid around, just staring at it, trying to overcome its taunting calls. It was either drive home safely, or get into a car accident because he had one to many drinks, so he stayed sober. For the most part.

”One more round!” He gave in to the one drink, lifting his glass in suit before downing its contents, meeting the other boys up in front of the mics as they cheered him up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit of a long one hehe. I did not have school today so I thought why not edit this and get it out while I have the time, so here it is yay!
> 
> Also, may I just say the little comments on this make me the happiest person on Earth. I love reading them and thank you to everyone who has read!
> 
> Okay, I hope you enjoyed :) Don't forget to drink water and stat safe ! [ Resonance Pt. 2 comes out the 23rd ]


	5. Chapter Five

No more partying with Renjun and Jeno on the weekends. Jisung decided that it would be better to never go out with those two wild boys again, at least until he could handle it. After hearing that Donghyuck had stayed sober for the day and offered to pick the boys up in the middle of the night, and Jisung went all in. He decided it was a good idea to catch up on the shots he didn’t take earlier in the night. Why waste the money that he spent on them and not drink them. Once his little problem was solved, he didn’t have to drive his three wasted friends anymore. So what better to do than down your shots and have fun with friends on the weekend.

Jisung felt like he had gotten punched, except not punched once, punched all over his entire body. His eyelids felt heavy, and his eyes felt red, they probably were. Jisung whined as he turned to the other side of his bed to try and cool down his burning body, his stomach churning uneasily as he did so. Jisung’s head was pounding and the unusual pain coming from the base of his neck was not helping in the slightest. Basically he felt like shit, absolute shit. He wanted to flip back onto his back immediately but the cold side of the bed felt so damn good against his warm muscles and bare chest. He wanted to say he would never take a sip of alcohol again but that was a lie, he wouldn’t be able to keep that promise, but at least he could try. 

”Well look who it is.” An all to familiar voice sasses, being followed by the soft click that his door made whenever it closed properly. Jisung didn’t even bother to turn around and look, he just resumed his position, burring his face further into the cold white pillows. “You look fucked.”

He felt fucked and just groaned in response, sighing before moving his legs around to look for another cold spot on the bed. It was a bit of a cooler day today and every so often the breeze blew into the room, being accompanied by the bright sun that shone in whenever the curtains moved. It was a nice day outside from what Jisung could see from his bed, with his other eye still squishing into the pillow. 

Jisung shuttered as he felt Donghyuck’s cold fingers press up against the nape of his neck, sliding his hand around a bit and squeezing his neck to try and sooth him in some sort of way. Jisung doubted it was really doing anything to soothe his headache but it made him feel a bit better, even if it was just some sort of placebo effect. But did Jisung really didn’t care? No. His best friends cool hands running over his hot back and neck felt like heaven. And the best part was that Donghyuck never lifted his hand up once, tracing little patterns with his fingers on Jisung's back. 

”The least you could do it get your fatass up.” The mattress dipped in as Donghyuck finally sat on the edge of the bed, switching to his other hand that was just as cold as the other one was before. Jisung felt helpless as Donghyuck’s hand continued to trail down to his back again, rubbing in small circular motions as if coaxing him to get out of bed. Donghyuck’s nails felt nice as he continued rubbing his back, they weren't super long or anything, but just long enough to feel the subtle scratch whenever he changed directions.

”I’m up.” Jisung patted around on the left side of his mattress until he slapped Donghyucks leg, hitting the shorter a couple times before opening his eyes. Jisung almost wanted to laugh at his voice when he spoke, it hurt is dry throat whenever he said something, whenever he yawned, and his voice could only go just above a whisper. Hyuck shoved the glass of water in the youngers hand as soon as he sat up and leaned back against the headboard, pushing him to drink the thing. “Fuck.” Jisung sighed in deeply after he drank a few sips, trying not to upset his churning stomach from moving to quick, or drinking the water to fast. Thankfully Donghyuck just sat silently at his side, holding an aspirin tablet in his open hand as he waited for Jisung to drink some more water.

Usually this was the other way around. Usually it was Jisung coaxing Donghyuck out of bed because he was either high as fuck, or getting the after effects of being high as fuck. Or maybe the night before there was a party, either way he always ended the night messed up. But this morning it was the other way around, Jisung was the one getting back rubs and someone was there to make sure he drank all his water, took medicine and actually got up for the day. Jisung almost felt bad for taking up his friends morning. Yet again it made up for all the times Jisung had to do the same, skip his morning classes just to be there so that Donghyuck would make it at least another day. 

”Take this and get up. We are going down for breakfast okay?” Getting up from the bed, Donghyuck left the small tablet on top of Jisung’s phone so he would remember to take it, heading out of the room so the boy could get dressed. 

"Really dragging me to the university Hyuck-" He yawned, glaring at the white tablet on top of his phone, popping it immediately and following up a swig of water to help it dissolve faster. He only earned a "mhmm" from Donghyuck who clicked the door closed as he made his way back into their living room. Going 'down' for breakfast was only an excuse Donghyuck used to get Jisung out of the bed for the day, a strategy Jisung had used to get Donghyuck out of the house. He was sure he couldn't drive all the way there though, only if it was a five minuet drive but Jisung could barely function properly just sitting around, let alone drive. 

Nonetheless he got out of bed hesitantly, struggling to make his way to the drawers on the other side of his room. Frames were the option today, there was just no way Jisung was going to effectively put on his contacts. Slipping the sleek metal glasses up his nose, he grabbed a plain black t-shit that went with his joggers just as well as any other shirt would, slipping it over his head before shoving his phone in his pocket, carefully heading out of his small room. "So he is alive." Jisung was greeted by Jeno's smart remark, like he wasn't the one to drag him out in the first place. Jeno looked fine, not hungover at all, or at least that was how he presented himself this morning. He was all dressed, jeans, shoes, windbreaker and all, like he was showing off that he could actually function properly. 

"You started it." Jisung slipped on his slides, raking his fingers through the brown fluff of hair on his head, making his way over to the door where Donghyuck was contently standing.

"At least I brought Donghyuck over here, it's almost fucking one pm and I had to get you up somehow. Now get a move on." So Donghyuck was lying that it was breakfast time, it was in fact one pm and Jisung had spent almost half the day sleeping. At least Jeno was the one who let Donghyuck in this morning, well, this afternoon. Nodding at his roommates suggestion to get a move on Jisung grabbed his keys from the counter right next to the microwave, where he always left his keys, tossing them across the kitchen to the shorter. 

"I can’t function, your driving." Jisung confessed, grabbing his best friends hand as they walked out of the open door and into the hallways of their apartment complex. Donghyuck squeezed Jisung's hand in reassurance, tossing the keys Jisung had given him around in his open hand. 

Donghyuck had a license but no car, he had only gotten his divers license a couple years ago because his parents forced him to get it before he left for collage. They wanted him to be independent is was Jisung was told, even if he had no car to drive and be independent in. If that boy had a car Jisung was sure that thing would smell like weed, all the time. It would just be his new spot to smoke so that he didn't have to take all his hits right next to the window or open all the windows in his apartment. That car would be hotboxed more often than driven around, so did he really need a car, no. 

Jisung slumped back into the passenger seat closing his eyes, silently thanking himself that he had a car and that his parents were kind enough to gift him one, even if he still payed half of the cost, so it wasn't really a gift. 

It was a silent car ride, Donghyuck didn't even turn on the radio in fear that it might make Jisung's headache worse, or simply anger him. But the silence was comforting, and it was nice to sit in silence before going to the cafeteria. Jisung wanted to hold Donghyuck's hand again as he sat in the car, it was warm, comforting, and the way he moved his thumb over Jisung's subtly to comfort him made him feel somewhat safe. 

It was particularly cold today, but not as bad as yesterday. Jisung gazed out the window, the multicolored leaves on the trees were ruffling in the wind. The ones that had already met their demise were rolling around on the ground, being crushed by any people that passed by. It seemed like a busy day today, they had breakfast every morning in the cafeteria mainly for students that lived in the dorms for a small fee of something around seven dollars a week, more or less. It depended on if you got coffee, a second serving and a few other factors. But if you showed your school ID to the ladies serving the food, you got in no matter your residents whereabouts. It was just a cheaper alternative to going out to breakfast, with all the expenses going to college this was nice of them to give back, even if it was just a little bit.

Jisung wasn't even really in the mood for food, he wasn't even sure if he could hold down much yet he still followed close behind Donghyuck as they made their way across the parking lot to the cafeteria, which was more like a food court if Jisung was honest. They had quite a wide selection of cuisines after breakfast, the chain restaurant booths more expensive than all the basic university food of course, but they were just there for convenience. 

Unfortunately for Jisung it was loud in the cafeteria, he just wanted a somewhat quieter morning but this was the deal for now, the loud university cafeteria. But most students were still in pajamas and very comfortable clothes anyway, so that made him feel a little bit better about the t-shirt, joggers and converse ensemble. 

Donghyuck had been quite nice already and even offered to get Jisung's food for him, but the taller kindly declined, feeling bad that his friend had wasted so much of his day just helping him get around. Of course he had done the same to Hyuck more times than he can remember, but Jisung wasn't really expecting him to return the favor so soon, and so well. He must have been somewhat aware of some of the things Jisung had done when he was high out of his mind and during the mornings surges after. Jisung even had to ice his face one morning to calm the swelling because he fell asleep right after a few, long hits of his decorated glass bong, it was a hectic school morning. 

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

Jisung would be lying if he said his head wasn’t still throbbing. He shoved more eggs in his mouth, trying to ignore the waves of nausea overcoming him. The breakfast wasn’t exactly making anything any better, but the orange juice was good, it tasted fresh. “You can go back to bed when you get home. Just wanted to get you out of bed lazy ass.” The shorter giggled softly, taking another sip of whatever brown substance was in his cup.

”No. Thanks Hyuck. This is nice.” Jisung rested his chin in the palm of his hand, lazily smiling at the boy sitting right across from him. 

“Feel any better?” Donghyuck smiled back, adjusting the collar of his jacket as another swift breeze came in from the open window.

“No....Why did I do that.” He could barely even remember last nights events, it was all just a big blur, a big messy blur. He just remembered seeing the leftover shot glasses and downing the three shots of that amber liquid as his friends cheered him on. YangYang had ordered the shots in groups of four, it was cheaper that way and there were four of them so it was just perfect that way. Taking all three one after another was not exactly the smartest idea Jisung had ever had. And of course when the night was over they had to order one last ‘end of the night round’ shots to finish off their little outing, and Jeno wanted to thank Donghyuck in some sort of way, and that way was a drink. 

“Don’t know dipshit. At least I got a drink out of it.” Dipshit was a new one. Donghyuck usually went with asshat or just stupid, so this one was new. Jisung just nodded, trying to focus on eating all of the food on the plate in front of him and not end their peaceful breakfast in an unfortunate accident.

”Yeah, at least you got a drink out of it.” Jisung mocked, rolling his eyes and taking another sip of his juice which sadly had no pulp in it. 

Jisung’s phone gently buzzed in his pocket, taking his attention away from his plate as he went for his phone. He huffed waiting for the stupid Face ID to finally recognize his tired face. All that was there was a message from an unknown number that said “hi”, leaving Jisung to just stare blankly at his screen. He only replied with a simple “hello”, unsure of really what else to say. Jisung rarely got texts from unknown numbers, let alone texts from his friends, so this was a little unexpected. Unless this was someone he knew and he just forgot to save them as a contact, that wouldn’t be a surprise. The number texted back again with “hey”, annoying Jisung ever so slightly.

”Who ya texting.” Donghyuck wriggled his eyebrows, catching onto the fact that Jisung was staring blankly at the screen as his phone vibrated softly again. He only shrugged and turned his phone around, allowing his friend to examine the number. “It’s Chenle.” Donghyuck blurted out, pulling the phone out of Jisung’s hands to bring the phone closer to his face.

”Huh?” The tallers breath hitched as Donghyuck whipped the phone back around, only for Jisung to acknowledge the, “this is Chenle” in another small blue bubble right below the previous messages. Jisung remembered the small encounters they had in the hallways, and the one a few nights ago when the two were just staring at the rain. After feeling bad and like he owed the boy something the two exchanged numbers that night. He must have just forgotten to save his contact, or simply was way to lazy to do it at the time. 

But Jisung also acknowledged the feeling in his heart and the way he speed up whenever that boys name was mentioned. Jisung knew his breath hitched as he called out, but he just hoped that Donghyuck didn’t notice it, or at least hoped he didn’t mention it.

He just replied with a thumbs up emoji, not really sure what to say next and honestly a little to scare he would say something dumb. But before anything else he saved the boys number, still wondering why exactly Chenle was texting him on the weekend and randomly in the middle of the day. “Can you meet me at the library?” a banner appeared on the top of his screen as he left the contacts app. His eyes only widened at the message, his fingers floating just above the keyboard as he wondered what to say, a curious Donghyuck still smiling as he sat impatiently in front of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hope you liked this longer chapter hehe :)
> 
> The few amount of comments on this make me happy reading them so thank you; I recently hurt my finger so it takes a bit more time to type things, but I hope it will get better soon.
> 
> If you are interested [ probably not, its fine ] here is the playlist i listen to when writing, and my other spotify account playlists hehe; [ you can copy and past the link into a browser, or my user is jen0s.cats
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/59vHlofN3TirucgJ3yorlY?si=T_9BZUiHTCKRV3wUNyy5Zg
> 
> Anyways hope you enjoyed and thank you for reading!


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took SO LONG.
> 
> This chapter is NOT edited yet, I just wanted to get it out; so sorry if there are spelling errors or anything grammatically incorrect. 
> 
> Later tonight [ probably a few hours after this uploads ] it should be edited completely, there will be a note saying it has been!
> 
> Anyways please enjoy!

It wasn’t raining yet, but it sure looked like it would soon. The clouds were getting darker and they were slowly covering the entire sky, almost blocking out the sun completely. Jisung obliged to Chenle’s request by making his way to the library, averting his attention to the sky every so often, just to see if it was raining.

Donghyuck had given Jisung his purple, well, lilac hoodie for the journey downstairs, which was nice of him to so willingly offer it up. Jisung pushed up his glasses before tucking his hands in the pocket, the hoodie smelt like Donghyuck, and a little bit like weed, but not strong enough of a smell to bother anyone unless they went up to the hoodie and stuck their nose in it. But Jisung was sure that college students were used to the smell by now, so it wouldn’t bother anyone. 

He continued his way to the library, holding onto the railing for stability as he hesitantly walked down the stairs. The library was an unnecessarily large building and had to be located downstairs with the rest of the advanced English courses and other classes that required going to the library more frequently than others. There were very few students walking the campus, probably because it was the weekend and no one really had classes today, at least the people Jisung knew. He had to squint a little bit to see the signs that were pointing to the library, maybe it was his hangover, or the fact that his glasses were slowly getting to weak for his eyes. Yes, he could see everything quite well without anything to aid his vision, but when it came to reading anything, the dark words were blurry as hell and it took some squinting to make them out.

Eventually Jisung made it to the library building, pulling his hood down as he opened the clean glass door. He didn't know what side of the library Chenle was on, or what he was wearing, but Jisung was just looking around for the boys mop of blonde hair sitting at a chair as he made his way down and between the isles. After more than five minutes of looking at all the tables, and through countless isles, Jisung finally found him. He located the smaller male at a table close to the window, trying to smooth down his hair as he made his way over, in an attempt to actually look decent, but Jisung was sure he looked a mess. "Chenle?"

"What the hell happened." Clearly Jisung didn't smooth his hair down well enough, or get rid of his eyebags by pressing his cold finger pads right under his eyes, because he was clearly still a visible mess. Chenle still had his bag slung over his shoulder and was clutching a rather colorful book close to his chest, he must have just gotten here himself. He must have also went to get coffee earlier in the day as his cup, either half empty or half full, was still sitting on the table next to him. 

"Alcohol. Now, what do you need?" Jisung tried a smile, gazing down and squinting at the book Chenle was holding to try and read the cover for himself. He was slightly pissed at the fact that Chenle just called him out for looking hungover as he was sitting there being all pretty, but Jisung kept a smile on nonetheless. 

"You dance right?" Chenle placed the book down on the oak wood table, placing his bag right on top of it, taking a few things out. Jisung just nodded as he sat down, beginning to tap his foot against the floor subconsciously. "I need you for an assignment." 

"An assignment━?" Jisung was suddenly so much more intrigued in this matter than he was just a few seconds ago. He thought Chenle would be here asking for money, or for some sort of long time favor from the boy, but no, it was a school thing. The shorter did nothing but take another paper out of his bag, sliding it in front of Jisung, who just squinted at the tiny print. 

"Basically, for my last few portfolio pages, I need to capture motion and the human body. And you will be that human body. In whatever medium of my choice of course." Chenle explained, catching the fact that Jisung was holding his glasses just away from his nose, trying to read the print. Like Jisung even knew what a medium in that boys major was, he was a dance theory, philosophy, and criticism student, that minored in mathematics, two completely different subjects, yet somewhat tied together. 

"Why me?" Jisung wasn't exactly the most comfortable around Chenle, as he had just met the boy a couple days ago. Jisung had still only conversated with him a few times but he seemed kind of course. Chenle was nice to be around and the way he spoke about the most random things was so weird, but it made Jisung want to hang out with him all day just to listen to that boy talk. And maybe expand his vocabulary just a bit. 

"Well you dance. I assume you are flexible, at least a little bit?" Chenle wouldn't be wrong about that. Jisung could do the splits and a few other things, but not to the extent of gymnasts and the females in the ballet room across the hall. But sometimes he took those classes to better his skill in that style of dance, only when the class was more than half empty and his regular dance teacher was the one teaching them that day. "And don't you remember, you broke my fucking phone."

"Yeah, you're right." He shrugged, almost questioning himself as he looked around the library. It was scarce this afternoon and the few students around them were reading their big ass text books, doing some studying or something, but most were just hanging out. Chenle only nodded in response, taking a sip from the metal coffee cup right next to his bag, you know, the large Starbucks cups that you could purchase yourself that came in an array of different colors. Jeno had one, and Jisung was sure that Chenle had more than one.

"Do you mind?" Chenle had pulled out a small mixed media sketchbook and his pan of paints without Jisung even noticing that he had pulled out his supplies. 

"No-. No I don't think I mind."

He was somewhat puzzled on what Chenle was asking until he yelled "Sit still!" loudly at Jisung as he tried to reach for his phone. “I’m hungover Chenle! I look like shit.” Sure Chenle was an artist, but Jisung did not think that he could make him look that good just sitting here in the library, with his friends hoodie, hungover as shit. 

“I don’t think so.” Chenle smiled softly and looked up at the boy across from him, pulling his fancy looking pencil away from the sheet of mixed media paper. "It's up to you."

“I guess it’s fine.” He owed him. He owed him was what Jisung was repeating in his mind over and over again, trying to ignore that Chenle had began sketching around on the pad of paper. "I'll try to stay still."

“Great, thank you.” Chenle sighed in relief, taking off his jean jacket and rolling up the sleeves of his grey knitted sweater, continuing to sketch out his painting with his light blue colored led. Now all Jisung had to do was sit there and wait, trying to look at anything but the male sitting right in front of him. Currently he was looking at a light fixture with the little sighs that was right out the foggy window. Jisung could barely see what the signs actually said, but they were there, the white letters bright against the black slate metal. The light flickered every so often and was barely lighting the cobblestone path right below it. He wish he had his airpods or something to listen to his music with to make the time pass just a little bit faster. 

”Wow.” Jisung let out subconsciously as he took his eyes away from the lamp and down at the paper for the first time in a while. Chenle was already done with the sketching part of the drawing. It was a very light sketch and Jisung had to tilt his head closer to the paper to actually see the pale blue lines. Chenle giggled, causing Jisung to blink a few times and look up at him. It was a full on giggle and that man sounded almost like some sort of dolphin. His pitchy, bubbly laugh really contrasted with the males sort of composed looking outfits and the way he spoke, but it was cute. The few soft laughs that Jisung had heard before were quite different, but they were still high pitched and ultimately the cutest thing ever.

Jisung had never been painted before, why would he have been? So this was a first. Chenle was using what Jisung assumed were watercolor paints, not that it mattered. The pans of paint were small and his little cup of water had almost been knocked over three times, but Chenle has a massive amount of brushes. 

He was looking at Chenle now. The blonde boy was so focused on painting his perfect picture. His eyebrows wriggled every so often and he tapped the end of his paint brush on his chin when doing what Jisung assumed was color matching. His lips were so full and pink, it could have been the cold air biting at his lips to tint them such a color but it was still pretty. It was just the small things that Jisung noticed. Including Chenle’s dimple that only showed itself when he really smiled, and sometimes when he was pursing his lips together at the incomplete painting. Basically Jisung felt like a piece of trash sitting next to this male who was practically looking a million dollars. “You can go on your phone now. I might ask you to lift your head though.” Chenle broke the silence with his soft words, not looking up at his muse just get to see what exactly he was doing. 

There was no hesitation in grabbing his phone and Jisung immediately went for his hoodie pocket to grab the thing. To no surprise there was nothing but one message, and it was from YangYang, who had Jisung convinced that he had another level of alcohol tolerance. He was just asking Jisung to come out with him tonight, again, following the message with that emoji with the tongue that teenage girls usually used. Another night out seriously? Jisung couldn’t even function at the hour, yet he was still being invited to go out again, with YangYang, who had some of the greatest tolerance he had ever seen. Jisung tried to hold in his facial expression the best he could as he stared down at the blue bubble. There was no way. "Can you talk while panting?" Jisung broke the small silence as he looked up from his phone, leaving his friends message to open it later. Jisung just felt lonely in the silence Chenle left him in, and honestly just wanted some company. 

"Oh sorry." He giggled again as if he forgot that Jisung was sitting right across from him in almost complete silence with nothing but his phone as entertainment. "We can uhhh━ listen to music? If not, that alright."

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

The two had gotten a bit more comfortable with each other as the day went by. It had only been about about an hour and the library had gotten way louder than it was earlier, more students were in here to study or just hang out in here. His hangover, still quite bad. His head still hurt and Jisung still didn't feel anywhere near the best, but it was slowly getting better. Jisung had been jamming to Chenle's music almost the entire time now, the two didn't exactly have the exact same taste in music, but a few songs Jisung knew the name of came on every so often. Chenle listened to more calm, piano music with a few rap songs between them all, so it was somewhat Jisung's style of music. Chenle claimed that he was almost done with the watercolor painting, holding it close to Jisung's face every so often to do, whatever the hell he was doing with it.

“Okay, don’t look yet.” Chenle chucked as he set the light pink stained brush into the peach colored water, placing it right between all the other dirty brushes. He had probably gone up to the bathroom to change that small cup of water at least five times, and wash his dirty brushes of course. 

“I’m not looking.” Jisung almost went to burst out laughing along with him, but his hangover was still mildly controlling the output of such activities. Everything hurt when Jisung laughed, or when he really did anything, but the pounding of his head could just be from the lack of water.

“Ta-da!” The older turned the notebook around to face Jisung, displaying the bright and intricate water color painting.

”Holy-.” Jisung took the book softy out of Chenle’s hands, just staring at the painting. It looked like him that’s for sure, the way his brown hair fell around his forehead, it looked so soft and life like. The way his eyes were drawn so dark, true to their natural color, yet so sparky and hopeful looking at the same time. Chenle had to be some sort of wizard or something, a wizard that worked his magic with a piece of paper and paints. “I look so..”

”Pretty?” Chenle beamed, resting his chin in his palm as he looked up at the boy who was still admiring the work of art. His skin tone was matched pretty well, it looked almost glowing in the painting, and Chenle had payed enough attention to get the small mole on Jisung’s face just right.

”I never thought I would actually like being painted, or something.” Jisung had to be honest, he didn’t expect a whole lot from the young painter until he shoved that notebook in his face but there Jisung was, on a piece of paper painted almost perfectly. "You're talented." Jisung was still marveling at the small painting, lightly brushing his pale fingers across the paper, careful not to touch the watercolor that was still wet. 

"So you like it?" Yeah, of course Jisung liked it. He set the notebook back down, looking at it one last time before sliding it back in front of the painter, smiling at him. Jisung almost wanted so flip through the other pages of that notebook, but he just wanted to try and be respectful. 

"I love it." Jisung smiled back, trying to ignore the easing hangover pain that he still had in the back of his head.


	7. Chapter Seven

Class had finally ended, thank god. It was quite a long day today with a few tests and mid-terms coming up. It was hell for the next few weeks of school. Jisung met Donghyuck in the middle of the courtyard, per usual. He was talking to some boy that Jisung had only seen around the campus a few times, but they seemed to be good friends.

The two were going to finally hang out today after the long days of preparing for their tests and endless homework assignments. Donghyuck was supposed to come over and study, come over to get some work done. Would any actual homework be getting done, probably not, but there was always time in the morning, or when Donghyuck left.

"There he is." Before Jisung could say anything he was squeezed by Donghyuck's arm that snaked around his shoulder. Jisung chuckled in response, waving to the short boy still standing in front of him, holding his math book close to his chest. "This is Taeil."

So, this boy's name was Taeil. Jisung held his free hand out to the brown haired male, shaking his hand before continuing to mess with the rings on Donghyuck's left hand, that was till hanging over his shoulder. Taeil had nice skin and pretty brown eyes from what Jisung could see while still in his friends grasp. Taeil had a simple ocean blue crewneck on, with a white gold chain delicately hanging around his neck, the outfit complete with some light wash jeans. He looked nice nonetheless, like a good friend. 

"We have a project together." Taeil smiled, cracking his knuckles softly before looking back up at both of the boys and smiling. Donghyuck was a computer engineering major and Taeil was probably as well, so they must of had class together or something, it didn't matter to Jisung, he just hoped Donghyuck didn't leave his partner to do all of the work for him. Because he had definitely done that before. Nine out of ten times it was because he was paired with people he didn't like, the one other time was just him being lazy, per usual. 

The three talked for a little while before Donghyuck and Jisung took their leave, heading back to Jisung's apartment to hang out. Taeil was nice. The small conversation that they had was pleasant. Taeil seemed collected and like he could really handle any situation with his mature stance and he way he carried himself. And well he was pretty, even if that had nothing to do with his personality. "Lets get boba." Donghyuck smiled as the two made their way to the university parking lot.

"Fatass. You are always hungry." Jisung wanted boba too, but it was Donghyuck was was always hungry no matter the situation. Jisung did not blame him though, food was definitely a blessing, but sometimes the boy went through half his pantry when Jeno had only bought groceries yesterday. He was just basically a walking vacuum, especially when it came to pork belly, but honestly, any food in the same room as the boy was in danger.

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

Donghyuck sang softly as he messed with Jisung's soft brown hair, the boy laying in his lap half asleep from the fingers dancing around his scalp. The two were sitting in Jisung's room hanging out for the first time in a while, relaying the days events to each other, just talking about life in general. Donghyuck wasn't very good at recounting memories but Jisung still listened to his little stories. 

They were doing homework earlier but had just given up on that idea about an hour ago when Jisung wrapped himself in blankets after finishing up his math paper. So now Donghyuck was singing a song he didn't know the name of, nonetheless Jisung found the older's voice soothing and calming. He always sang at the most random times and was the best whenever they went out to karaoke, but Jisung just found it nice to matter what he was doing. 

"I've only had one kiss in my life Hyuck." Jisung lulled his head back into Donghyuck’s lap, thinking about his rather sad excuse of a love life that the two had just began talking about ten minutes ago. Somehow this topic just always came up, Jisung wasn't exactly opposed to talking about it but sometimes it got just a little to personal. But he could tell Donghyuck really anything. The two best friends were basically transparent with each other, it was always nice to have someone to tell everything to.

But Donghyuck and Jisung's roommate made him think about it more than normal, they were always with their boyfriends or something. Telling date stories and sharing selfies with Jisung who was just left to look at them and actually wonder what that kind of relationship really felt like. But the joy that Donghyuck seemed to have when sharing all his stories and marveling at them all over again somewhat brought Jisung happiness. Seeing the smile displayed across his face as he looked back on photos lit up the room, it was cute, and uplifting. Donghyuck was like the sunshine that everyone needed in their life. One that Jisung needed. 

"Do you want a second one?" Donghyuck made a kissy face as he got up for the umpteenth time to go and take a hit of his wax pen out of the window, Jisung immediately pulling his air freshener from his bedside table to ease the scent. He didn't mind Donghyuck's use of the substance, not at all, but he hated the smell of it when it lingered in his room. When it lingered on Donghyuck's clothes it wasn't bad at all, but the smell of his apartment was kind of strong. So, Jisung always came prepared with his small Febreze can, the vanilla scent of course.

"Shut up asshole." Jisung scrunched his nose, rolling over to the other side of his bed, pulling his plush comforter over his head. Donghyuck always teased him, and especially when it came to things like this, but he just guessed it was only right. Even through his endless teasing and never ending talking Jisung still found it nice to have Donghyuck as a best friend. He still stared at Donghyuck like he was a delicacy. The way his long eyelashes brushes his cheek every time he blinked, his clear skin that was decorated with moles that Jisung had connected to make the Big Dipper across his cheek. And he could never forget his smile.

“YangYang is single.” Donghyuck smirked, coming back from the window and plopping himself right next to Jisung, only to earn a Febreze spray to the face. Now he would play this dating game of Donghyuck naming every single boy, and even a few girls that Jisung knew until he showed any sort of reaction to the name being said. “How about Chenle, you two hang out often.”

Jisung’s eyes shot wide, followed by his silent prayer that Donghyuck didn’t notice his pale face. He had never really though of the small Chinese painter in that way, ever. Well, Jisung had to admit he was rather pretty, he was nice and had some amazing painting skills. But Jisung was just another one of the cars on the highway to Chenle. He was another person brought into the rich boys life, just to be plucked away as soon as their project was done, Jisung could feel it. He was just counting down the days until the semester was over and Chenle had to turn his final portfolio in, the same day he would probably wipe Jisung from his brain like he didn’t even exist. “No, Hyuck” Jisung rolled back over to lay in his friends lap again, lightly tracing small circle patterns over the boys soft sweatpants. He shook his head at the thought of Chenle sitting across from him, smiling as wide as ever— gross. There was just something about him, maybe.

Groaned as he tried to shake off the idea, running both hands through his hair, he grabbed the light blue pen from the boy sitting above him.

"Your going to get fucked.” Donghyuck snatched the pen back from Jisung’s grabby hands, clicking the button a few times.

”And what if that was the intention.” Jisung had no idea what exactly pressing the button three times did, but he trusted his friends judgement. Sadly, his room was definitely starting to smell somewhat like weed, the Febreze not doing a lot anymore as the wind was just pushing the fumes back in. Their plastic boba cups were still sitting on the dresser across the room, Donghyuck still having a bit of his mango slush left. Jisung liked the more sour drinks, so he had his usual green apple green tea, which was way to sour for anyone else to enjoy but him.

“You’d die, baby.” He clicked the button a few times more and smiled down at Jisung before handing the pen back down to him, patting the top of his head one more time. Jisung honestly wondered how much one pen was, it wasn't like Donghyuck had a new one every week, he just charged it every night and usually had more than one cartridge on him whenever he went somewhere. So Donghyuck didn't blow all of his money out on them, at least to Jisung's knowledge. 

“Are you staring at me?” Jisung felt the stare of his friends dark brown eyes as he touched the tip of the pen to his lip, meeting the eyes above him.

”Not staring Sungie, I’m watching.” Donghyuck confirmed, watching the black tip of his wax pen tap against Jisung’s bright pink lips before he went to take the hit. Jisung just rolled his eyes in response, grabbing his vanilla scented Febreze before doing anything else.

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

"Shit! Fuck! Fuck!" Donghyuck yelled, almost throwing the mouse he was clutching in his right hand as Nightmare, whatever the hell it was, frantically flashed in front of the screen. They were playing Five Night's at Freddy's 4, probably the one Jisung was scared of the most because the animatronics looked so horrifying. The entire game was just creepy all in general, and it just brought back memories on a night like this. 

Donghyuck was still at their apartment and Jeno's boyfriend had been kind enough to bring over Chinese food for their small impromptu get together in the middle of the night. They had school tomorrow yeah, but none of them were currently worried about it, they were more focused on the events happening on the T.V right in front of them. Homework was done, for the most part, and there was always time in the morning and right before they had to turn it in. The PC was being casted onto the T.V so that everyone could see the haunting jump scares for themselves. It was definitly a night. 

Jisung was just glad Donghyuck didn't bring up the idea of Mark and inviting him over, that level of loneliness and he would just get up and leave. But for now Jisung was on the floor with his food right in front of him on the coffee table, Donghyuck right next to him and the other two back up on the couch probably cuddling or something cute. 

The older always got what he called 'the munchies' after getting high. Jisung only knew it involved him getting way to hungry for anyone to process. Donghyuck was sitting next to Jisung currently inhaling the fried rice that was in the small paper container. They both also had the signature veiny red eyes, the telltale sign that they were definitely high. 

"Okay, who is next?" Donghyuck giggled, already forgetting that he had just gotten scared out of his life just a few seconds ago. He was done with his food and was now reaching for Jisung's across the coffee table, still wanting more. 

"Renjun." Jisung chipped in, ignoring his best friends grabby hands towards his bowl and pushing his frames further up his nose. The small boy was absolutely terrified of the game and snuggled up against Jeno whenever he even remotely felt like something was going to happen, burring his face wherever he could. 

"No! No! None of that." Jisung just giggled at the boys small fit, tugging at the shorters pant leg to spook him just a little bit. Jisung wasn't particularly scared of the game when he was playing, because he was simply to focused, but watching someone play was a whole different thing. 

"Fine, my turn." Jisung took another bite of his food before shoving Donghyuck out of the way of the computer, taking the wireless mouse in his hand. Was he mentally prepared, no, not at all, but this would provide great entertainment for the friends behind him. Jisung blinked a few times at the red screen before pressing continue, mentally preparing himself for the jump scares that were sure to happen, unless he had completed the night of course. Together, not including Renjun, they had successfully completed four nights, four very terrifying nights, and now it was Jisung's job to do the fifth. He didn't hate the game, it was rather fun in the middle of the night when he was alone in his room or facetiming Hyuck. Sometimes Jeno even came in after hearing Jisung yell from the jump scares or simply rage quit and throw his mouse down on the desk. 

Jisung was so focused on the game in front of him, running back and fourth from the doors and the closet, taking a few extra seconds to look behind him to check if anything was actually there. The other three boys were quiet so that Jisung could listen for one of the many audio cues in the game. His eyes flickered between the small computer screen and the T.V one, as if that was going to do anything to help his gameplay. He wasn't a gamer of any sorts, but Donghyuck always came over with something to play, something new to try or a multiplayer that Jisung had never even seen before, but it was all fun. And Jisung was just hoping everyone was having fun, even Renjun who was scared for his life back on the couch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is sort of a filler chapter, just to show Donghyuck and Jisung's relationship :)
> 
> I have been studying for finals for two weeks now, and I had my first one today! Anyways, hope you enjoy, the next one will be out sooner.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> enjoyyy :)

"Alright, how about with the arm up?" Chenle asked, tapping his pencil against the pad of paper that was right in front of him. The notebook was almost twice as big as the one he had in the library and he had a huge array of mixed medias right next to him, but most were just paints. Jisung obeyed the boy in front of him and held his arms up in the most graceful way possible, positioning his fingers in such a way so that they look somewhat delicate. He just wanted it to look nice for Chenle's painting, at least as nice as he could possibly look in a painting while struggling to keep his arms up.

"My arm is going to fucking fall off." Jisung rolled up the sleeves of his hoodie, sitting on the floor and putting his arms down, waiting for Chenle to either position him differently or make him stay like that for way to long. “Can't you take a damn picture or something?” Jisung looked down at his legs, straight legged pants were probably not the best bet for today. He had his dance pants in his bag but they were just testing out poses for now, nothing special. 

"I can only zoom into a photo so far." He confessed, getting up from the dance room floor that was honestly pretty dirty. Jisung was supposed to mop yesterday but he didn't bother, putting it off like most other things. "Here I can get all the details." He went up to the taller, who was shorter at the moment and pat his heat softly before turning around and looking in the mirror, gesturing the boy to resume his graceful pose on the floor again. 

He owed him, this was something he kind of had to do in order to pay Chenle back, he kept repeating in his head before slouching back down and sitting on the cold wooden floor. Jisung glanced out the window, it was definitely still a gloomy, rainy morning. A day of shadows that came to shield people from the burning sunlight. Yet it was still bright enough for Jisung to see the little droplets fall and hit the floor, furthermore collecting into the small puddles that were scattered all around the university buildings and occasionally pattering onto the window. It was day where most people stayed inside in fear to get soaked or catching a cold, but Jisung always wondered why. He loved the rainy days, the water was clean and natural, from the sky, so what harm did it do besides dampen your hood? It also seemed like a good day to drink hot chocolate next to a fire, or tea.

"This is for you and then we can start." Chenle clapped lightly, pulling some sort of thin looking shirt out of his bag for Jisung to change into. 

"You wanna paint my goosebumps too?" Jisung held up the thing, it was a dancer shirt all right, a thinner material and tight, literally everywhere. Chenle nodded in response and Jisung just obliged, swinging the shirt over his shoulder before shoving his hands back into the front pocket of his hoodie, enjoying the last few comforting minutes engulfed in the warm fabric. At least Chenle had the curtesy to turn on the heater before he got there, so the room was nice and warm. But the boy did have on a thick beige coat and long sleeve, so he was probably just fine. "Goodbye warm hoodie." Jisung wined as he stepped into the bathroom that was just one door down, gazing at his tired eyes in the mirror for a little bit before leaving the warmth of his layers. At least the dance room had its own bathroom, it had bigger mirrors and a large counter space, one big enough for a lot of the dancers to get ready at the same time. 

Jisung came out of the chilly bathroom trying to cover himself as much as possible, it was kind of embarrassing to walk out in the hall for point five seconds with a tissue paper-esque tank. Nonetheless he was welcomed back into the warmth of the room with Chenle sitting back against the mirror in the middle of all his paints and such. 

Jisung, with his arms still wrapped around himself wondered back in to the room, wondering why the shorter male sat on the floor. There was a perfectly good desk in the corner of the room waiting for someone to use it, or the couch was sat against the other wall that the two of them could have moved so that Chenle at least had somewhere comfortable to sit. He had the luxury of options, but Jisung was limited to the floor, sticking his leg out and trying to point his toes for as long as he possibly could. 

"Lets start yeah?" Chenle flicked the ceiling lights a little brighter, smiling at the boy in front of him before sitting back in his little seat between all of the media. "We can take a break after I sketch."

"That's fine with me." Jisung smiled slightly, he honestly wanted to get this thing over with. Or maybe it was that he really just wanted food at the moment. For breakfast, it was some of the apple that Jeno had sliced this morning before just throwing on his shoes and heading out the door, so there wasn’t really food in his stomach. And that was what Jisung tried to think about, for the next however long Chenle would be painting him for his portfolio.

”Just pretend your a flower, very still, graceful flower.”

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

Jisung squeezed his eyes shut again as he kept his arms up high, trying to look like he was putting no effort into the pose whatsoever. It looked like time hadn't progressed at all, like it was still in the early hours of the morning. The rain was still falling, but the clouds looked lighter and the gloomy vibe that was present earlier in the day had just turned to a fall morning vibe. Chenle hadn't said anything in over thirty minutes but Jisung was fine with the soft music playing in the background as he sat there, looking around the room to try and focus on something other than the artist in front of him.

One of the older’s friends was nice enough to bring them both hot drinks, it was sweet of her, yet Jisung didn't bother to ask about her name or major. It was just a common thing to ask around, like everyone wanted to know your business. But now all he could look at was the drinks cooling down in the corner of the room to the right of Chenle. Jisung really had no idea what was in the cup as neither of them had taken a sip of their drink. They were still sitting there, Jisung just wanting to drink the not so hot, hot drink. 

"Alright. You can relax now." Chenle chuckled as he lulled his head back in relief. He had been looking down at a piece of paper for so long his neck probably hurt like hell, but Chenle seemed content when he was painting. The shorter enjoyed it that was for sure, he had a small smile on his face every time he glanced up to Jisung and back down at the painting.

"Thank fucking-" Jisung dropped his arms and flexed his feet again. He didn't even bother to finish his sentence as exhaustion flooded his body. Holding a pose did not seem that hard, but now Jisung knew the pain some models went through. He would never flake it lightly again. The blood was well gone from his long, pale fingers so Jisung shook his arms out to finally get the blood flowing again. Chenle turned the speaker up a bit, almost knocking over his colorful mason jar that he used as water cup in the process, finally getting up from the floor. 

"The drinks must be cold by now." Chenle contently smiled down at the painting that he placed down on the floor in his makeshift seat between all the media, walking over to Jisung who looked like he was dying on the floor in his sprawled out position. Jisung had his eyes closed and looked well comfortable just there on the floor. But anything was probably more comfortable than the pose he had been sitting in for over an hour. They were only supposed to sketch and then take a break, but no, Jisung had to be ambitious and step up. "I can go to the convenience store to warm them up." 

Jisung was brought out of his thoughts, hadn't been to any sort of convenience store in such a long time. The last time he went was for Donghyuck when he was sick and wanted those artificially flavored spicy noodles from the store. Otherwise there was no reason for him to even go there, and his house was just so nice and comfortable. There was one right down the street from their university, outside the west gates was the best way to get there, how, convenient.

"We." Jisung opened his eyes, tilting his head to the side to meet Chenle's, who was now sitting next to him on the floor with a full expression on this face. Jisung messed with his fingers slightly, trying to get that tingling or pricking sensation to go away. 

For some reason Jisung just wanted an excuse to spend more time with the boy, he was nice to hang around, and a break from the chaotic evil energy Donghyuck had brought with him everywhere. Plus Jisung could learn even more of those fancy words that Chenle often used when describing the most random things. Listening to male talk was like reading a poetry book, not that Jisung had EVER read a poetry book but he assumed that was what it was like. Maybe it was probably the fancy words and crafty sentences that sometimes made really no sense, yet Jisung just smiled and nodded in response like he completely understood. Or it might have just been the two had taken a simple liking to each other.

"Huh." Chenle cocked his head to the side, hesitating as he went to run his hands through his hair. His veiny hands were covered in all colors of paint. They were more of the skin tone colors and the dark colors from painting Jisung's pants. Some of it was even coming up to his wrists, just little dots of paint that probably came from the mason jar of water.

"I'll go to the convenience store with you." Jisung almost ended that with asshole or dipshit but he caught himself before blurting it out like he usually would with Donghyuck. The two almost always called each other the stupidest things. "I don't have anything else to do today." He rolled over on to his stomach almost hitting Chenle's leg in the process, pressing his forehead into the cold floor.

Chenle looked back into the mirror in front of him, smiling at himself and the way Jisung was just laying there looking dead on the floor. "So are we going? Or are you sleeping?"

"Goodnight." Jisung smirked, as he rolled back over to face the dark colored couch.

【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】

It felt like there was a convenience store around every corner and Jisung didn't even know half of them were actually a thing. They were well, convenient just as the name implied.

The afternoon had brought a sky of granite-grey that faded and rose from total darkness, only to find the sun in true fissures of brilliant light. To Jisung it was like a rock above that had been struck with the hammer of the Gods to only let a small amount of light through. Apparently the store down the street from the university was really just right there in your face, its neon sign glowing especially bright under the grey clouds covering the entire sky. 

Earlier the two had quickly gathered Chenle's painting mediums and dumped the colorful mason jars down the bathroom sink, leaving the empty jars near the painting still laying on the dance floor. Chenle also put a few things back into his locker, which Jisung had no idea actually existed. Apparently all of the art students had small lockers in the colorful room to store their own supplies and such, probably the only students that used the lockers provided. Nonetheless it was still somewhat a mess in the dance room, the floor yet to be swept.

"Tiramisu or matcha?" Chenle's soft voice from across the small store rang in his ear, bringing Jisung's attention away from the packets of chips in front of him. The shorter already had a plastic basket with a few things in it, including the hot noodles the pair had picked out, and Jisung's tea. 

"Uhh" Jisung brought his attention to the small packages of mochi rolls that Chenle was holding in his hands as he looked at a few of the other flavors. The wall in front of them was full of the other options, but none of them were really that good. "Matcha." It was red matcha and Jisung honestly had no idea what the difference was between the regular and the flavor roll that this was, either way he liked both. Red matcha was the only flavor of mochi rolls he really liked, the others tasted to artificial, and the red bean paste with other flavors was not a good feeling in your mouth as he put it. 

Jisung stood there waiting for Chenle to decide what drink he wanted, sure there were so many choices but he didn't have to take all damn day to pick out something. The two had completely forgotten their original mission to heat up their hot drinks for now, they were still sitting in the basket. And of course they got a few snacks to go along with them. But hat was the problem with these convenience stores, they have everything, they have most of the flavors and it can be practically impossible to choose just one. You always end up going in for one thing, and coming out with five.

“Are you going to choose one or are we standing here all damn day.” Jisung huffed, giving up as he snatched two of the three cans that the shorter was holding in his hand, leaving him with whatever choice was in his left hand.

”Hey, I was choosing!” Chenle playfully hit Jisung on the side of the arm, not reaching up to far because of their seemingly growing height difference. Jisung noticed the artist seemed a bit more comfortable now, he was getting less and less proper and uptight about things which was nice of course. He laughed a little bit more uncontrollably and often decided hitting Jisung was the best way to solve all problems.

"It's been ten minutes!" Their little bickers often reminded Jisung how close they were in age and that Chenle was not all that much older, at all. It was different compared to hanging out with Jeno or Donghyuck, it felt different? In some way. Without arguing any further Chenle just went up and payed for their lunch, just like they had agreed on earlier. Their makeshift meal was basically just bunch of snacks plus their hot noodles, including their hot drinks from earlier that were still sitting in the basket. 

The two took those little seats in front of the convenience store that looked out of the window and onto the busy street. Jisung set there freshly mad hot noodles down in front of them both, handing Chenle the small, silver seasoning packet. He could smell the spicy flavor packet from his noodles as he ripped it open and sprinkled it all around the tin, mixing it around with the other hand. He wasn't one for super spicy things, and he didn't really know how hot this chicken flavor of instant noddle was, but he had his hot drink to chase it down just in case.

From their seats there was nothing much to see under the hazy fog that loomed over the city, but it was still a somewhat nice view of the other shops across the street. The clouds sit upon the earth, as if they decided the heavens were down here instead. The fog swooped in and skirted around the tall buildings and the trees, like a giant eraser moving indiscriminately to eradicate what was once there into something that is not anymore. Jisung sat in the comfortable science, slurping up his noodles that were most definitely the spicy ones, glancing over at Chenle every so often. 

“How do your hands not hurt after painting?” Fuck it. Jisung was all too curious as he looked over at the boys somewhat red hands. He was genuinely curious about it and Chenle probably had fingers of steel from holding a paintbrush for hours on end. The dancer never thought of painting or drawing in general to be a strenuous activity, but Jisung had guessed wrong. The way Chenle’s hands looked so worn and worked, it almost shocked him in a way of sorts. 

”No, it hurts.” Chenle look his attention away from the tin in front of him, glancing down at his somewhat large red hands. Jisung was sure the painters hands were no bigger than his own as he leaned over to show Jisung the redness. “Yeah, it fucking hurts a lot. I usually just ignore it.”

Chenle was turned completely to the side now, offering up his worn out hands. The boys nails were kept nice, and they were clean aside from the small bits of paint that still dug into his nail bed, just adding a bit more color to his fingers. Other than that, Jisung could feel that his hands were soft as he gently took them in his own, chucking slightly at his own fingers overlapping the painters. His hands were pale and veiny, fingers a little bit short with all of their dents and the calluses that decorated the male’s palm. They were pretty in simple words, and Jisung was still marveling over the fact that he still had the boys hands in his own, taking the time to run his own fingers over the small clauses that had formed earlier today. 

All Chenle did was stare at Jisung while he wasn’t looking, and the other could feel the pair of eyes on him but decided not to look up at the boy. Instead he giggled and retracted his hands down into his own lap, taking the sorters with him and squeezing them before he let go.

But there was nothing that could truly describe nothing. Even though they had only shared a few moments with each other, they were the ones that felt a bit special, even if there wasn’t a whole lot there. The younger honestly wished he could have kept holding his hand for a bit longer, the warmth and overall comfort of the smallers hands in his own was nice. Even if it was just for a second, even if it didn’t even matter to Chenle, nothing felt better than knowing someone would be there for you, to hold your hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was so crammed with school [ maybe playing some genshin impact ] and finals for the past month or so- but I am back now !! Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter!


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